A London MP Is Trying To Move Glastonbury Festival To The Capital

Glastonbury Festival is a British institution. Arguably one of the most famous music festivals in the world that’s just as famous for its heritage of incredible acts as it is for its Pyramid Stage and constant peril of mudslides.

It’s also known for being in Glastonbury, what with that handily being both the name of the event and its location.

Which makes the news of London Labour MP Gareth Thomas attempting to lure the festival over to the capital for a year during London’s bid to be the 2023 European Capital Of Culture seem utterly bonkers.

Thomas, who is currently standing to be the city’s next mayor, has suggested that the festival could be temporarily relocated to Epping Forest or Hackney Marshes for what would could be the 39th Glastonbury Festival, taking into account breaks to let the land regenerate. The infamous mud-soaked music gathering would be listed amongst a series of other arts and culture “pop-ups” for the bid.

The move would be used as a shrewd PR device to cement larger investment and Euro awareness in the UK (really London…) arts and culture sectors. As reported by the Independent the MP said:

"London is already well-served by major cultural institutions in the centre, but outer London has had a lot more pressure on arts funding and arts venues. There is a huge amount of artistic talent in London.

"And as part of the overall bid why not bring Glastonbury to London for one year to help anchor the year of arts and culture. We know the mud of Glastonbury is high quality – the mud of outer London is even more refined than Glastonbury."

The next bidding for the title of European Capital of Culture begins in 2017, and if Gareth Thomas and his bid for London Mayor has any say in it, Worthy Warm will be a big part of it.